


Peer Pressure

by Hollenka99



Series: Creator AU [5]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Anger, Februwhump, Gen, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Peer Pressure, Resentment, Unhealthy Relationships, Whump, Whumpril
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-02
Updated: 2019-04-02
Packaged: 2020-01-04 17:56:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18348764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hollenka99/pseuds/Hollenka99
Summary: Jack had pushed and pushed. He'd chipped at Sean's mind until he cracked.





	Peer Pressure

Sean's problems begin when Angus gets worse. Jack's always had a big mouth. He tends to speak before he truly thinks things through. Sean's technically to blame for that. However, it hasn't been much of an issue until now.

The first time Jack brings it up, he hates to reject him. The painfully dejected look in his best friend's eyes breaks his heart. He wants to help, he really does. He just can't. Not long after, he spends an hour or two looking for a game with an open world. Perhaps he could put on an Australian accent for the anniversary of the character's first appearance. Nothing comes up. Life gets in the way. Sean forgets about the search for a while.

Jack never allows him to forget for too long. What starts as "I'm worried about Angus" soon morphs into "Angus only called me Jake once today". The longer it goes on, the more desperate Jack gets. And angrier. Sean has never seen such frustrated fury in his friend. He wishes he never had to.

He's not sure when exactly their friendship takes a turn for the worst. It happens after he dyes his hair green, that's all he knows.

Sean is excited to dress up as a superhero and Jack is just as pleased to make a new friend. Jackie as a character is expected. His age though? Not so much. Sean never intended for him to be sixteen years old. It causes conversations about school and whether the boy would need an education in the first place. Sean doesn't necessarily see the point. Jackie was currently the only minor in their world. Even if he created a character with children at a later date, the kids would probably be the wrong age group to attend school with Jackie. If it was that important to Jack to see the young superhero have an education, he would have to do it himself. Being home-schooled would also allow Jackie to do his job.

'His name is Marvin.' Jack says a couple days after the magic set video. Sean can't say he was expecting this. Although, he probably should have. It had just been a dumb video. The mask was cheap, something to use once and forget about until you throw it away in a big spring clean. The magic set was the same, only with extra smaller parts. Nothing was meant to come from it. He hadn't even given himself a name. It was just 'Jack the Magnificent'. Where the hell did 'Marvin' come from?

"This better not happen again." Jack demands. "I don't want another Angus. God knows you're not going to help."

Oh please, would he shut up about Angus already. How many times did he have to tell Jack it wasn't possible before that information got through his thick skull? He's tried. Slightly out of spite, Sean prints out all records he's kept of his research efforts and hand delivers them to the egos' home. Whoop-de-do, it triggers another argument. The Skype call to Signe is long.

He thinks he can move on. Oops, haha, I didn't mean to create you but I still want to be on good terms with you. No, of course he can't get on with his life. Jackie has to get himself gravely injured. The demands come from two this time. For once, he's happy to co-operate.

The doctor character is fun to play. Screw Jack with his questions about the accent and backstory. It's his channel anyway. If he wants to play a character a certain way, he will do just that. In the case of Dr Schneeplestein, he is an eccentric doctor who probably should have his license checked on and a father whose children were the reward in marital blackmail. The best part is that there are a surplus of games revolving around hospital procedures. See, he could think things through. So there.

Not fully satisfied, Jack begins to bargain for a tweaked home life on Schneeplestein's behalf. The doctor suddenly has trust issues regarding his wife instead of her being a cheating, manipulative woman. In the compromise, Sean is also made to increase Schneeplestein's medical competence. When Sean points out the whole joke was that the doctor has dubious qualifications, Jack reminds him he isn't the doctor they'd requested. He guesses that's true.

He doesn't want all this to become truly canon yet. That's why he is pleasantly surprised to find videos that are uploaded privately still work to develop an ego. Perfect. Until it isn't. Jack comes complaining about the confliction in 'Henrik' caused by the subscribers still believing the old characterisation. He asks if the egos were a joke to Sean.

If anything is a joke, it's their relationship half the time. There are times where he can't think straight thanks to the stress Jack dumps on him. He wishes the guy would shut up for once. Yet, somehow, Sean can't bring himself to change his character. He could, theoretically it would be so easy, but he can't.

For the hell of it, he throws in a little extra. They can't die. Or, to be more specific, they can't die for long. Jackie gets stabbed and bleeds out? Easy, just deal with the wound and he should wake up after a while. What this means for Peter, who knows? Sean is thankful when the accountant isn't granted life. That's one less person to keep happy.

Like seemingly everything ego-related he does, it backfires. Within a year, this fail safe will have caused more suffering than hope. Sean isn't to know. However, he convinces himself he's done the right thing for once. He sure as hell knows how much trouble it's going to cause him if they don't believe that too.

He makes an irreversible mistake in the October of 2016. He gets so caught up in the teasing and build up that he doesn't contemplate how this will affect everyone. Sure, to him it's a bit of red paint. But to Jack? He doesn't want to imagine the scene Jackie discovers. God, he can't believe he's been so thoughtless.

Resurrecting the dead is exhausting, he finds. He postpones visiting Jack for a day before realising his avoidance is likely making matters worse. The dread cumulates to the point he swears he will be sick if he doesn't actively focus on his breathing. The loophole he made in September might have ensured nobody died permanently but it never mentioned scars. It's not visible behind the bandages but he knows it's there. Jack is pissed off. Rightfully so.

Matters worsen even more after Jackie vanishes while attempting to get away from their fighting. It's just another thing that's ruined the egos' perception of him. If he thought the hill Jack was ready to die on was Angus, he's got another thing coming. There's only so much he can take before he has to force apathy for the sake of his sanity.

He understands he can't control Antisepticeye. Once this situation is dealt with, he vows, the demon will never be used on his channel again. The subscribers' love for the character will have to ignored. It's too risky to play Anti again.

He puts the red suit on again. In the short video, only a minute or so in length, Jackie sprints through poorly lit corridors to the exit. Sean acts scared and looks behind him frequently as he runs. It is uploaded privately. His community didn't need to know anything about this. He hopes with everything he's got that it works. Nothing. For days, for weeks, for months. Sean doesn't bother letting the egos know what he'd tried to do. It's guaranteed Jack and Marvin would tell him to try harder. He has no idea what that means in this context.

Their lack of respect causes him to give up all efforts to have a good relationship with them. Jack still comes over every now and again. Their birthday goes far better than he'd hoped. Plus, Marvin appears to be coming into his own magic-wise. Sean doesn't like what Jack is implying when he mentions he's stopped learning German. At least he appreciates the video he made before Christmas with Henrik. 

In an emotional slump, he buys a bunch of Lyons boxes and mini chocolate eggs. It's just a parody of Dude Perfect from someone with zero accuracy. Then he does the stupid thing and creates life again. Fuck it, his wife hates him and he may never see his kids again. Chase Brody's depression causes him to pretend to shoot himself before the end card plays.

When Jack calls him and demands to know what the hell he was thinking, Sean has no answer. Afterwards, the ego doesn't provide his creator with any updates. Insisting he has the right to talk to Chase only makes him more hated. Despite having never met before, Chase already resents him.

The next time an ego is intentionally created, Sean's going to be there to intercept them. They're not going to enter that home and have their opinion of him influenced by people who wished he wasn't in their lives. The next new guy would be given a fair chance to see Sean for what he was. A massive screw up when it came to the ability he's unsure how to master. In no way is he some villain.

August is around the corner when Jack asks to visit. The two of them seem to be on the same page that day. Sean is more than happy to hang out and cheer him up. Believing Jack would be empathetic, he begins a conversation about how the YouTube algorithm was bothering him. Over three years of working as a duo on the Jacksepticeye channel meant Jack should understand where he was coming from. But, of course, his friend makes it all about himself and his own problems. Why wouldn't he? It's what he usually does.

They argue because apparently that's the only way they communicate with each other nowadays. Jack sure knows how to pack a punch. Being friends with him shouldn't be such a struggle. Sean snaps. The emotional fatigue of trying to keep up with the algorithm and all this fighting causes him to make one of the worst decisions he'd ever go through with. If Jack wants him to be the bad guy, fine. Sean would be the bad guy. Just this once, he'd actually be the asshole.

"You want to sleep, I'll let you sleep." He threatens when Jack begins walking off mid-argument.  
"Bring back Jackie. He's been missing for months. Do something!" Jack flings viciously back seconds before he marches out the door.

He can tell Signe regrets asking him how the gaming session went. He dresses as Schneeplestein as soon as he finalises his plan, pretending he aims to save a version of himself in Bio Inc Redemption. He loses. Oops. He acts as he feels the real Schneeplestein would, desperate not to watch another patient die.

He sends the video to Robin for editing. The final uploaded product is nowhere near what he'd recorded. His audience are all talking about Anti. They were praising him for his acting and Robin for his editing. But... he never included Anti. Any recollection of filming the final scene was non-existent. And the parts with Henrik getting possessed weren't him either. The more he thinks about it, the further the terror sets in.

Jack had pushed and pushed. He'd chipped at Sean's mind until he cracked. It had only meant to end with Jack slipping into a coma. Just a chance for Sean to focus on his own problems for once. He would have gotten Henrik to wake his patient up when Sean was ready. God, he just wanted peace for a change. It was never meant to happen like this.

Marvin is deaf in his rage. Chase is equally distraught. They forbid Sean from entering their home. Henrik is missing and Jack is unresponsive.

What had he done?


End file.
